


Alternian conscription

by fadedlikethelilac



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternia-Focused, Alternian Empire, Ashen Romance | Auspistice, Caliginous Romance | Kismesis, Conscription, F/F, F/M, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, Gen, Hemospectrum, I'll add more characters as they appear but pretty much everyone, M/M, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Quadrant Confusion, Quadrant Vacillation, Slavery, Troll Culture, Troll Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-05
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2018-02-07 12:30:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1899090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fadedlikethelilac/pseuds/fadedlikethelilac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It doesn't matter what you do, in the end we are all slaves to our blood.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Culling Laws

>> Be the young empress

Your name is Feferi Piexes, you are a little over seven sweeps old, and you are now technically empress of the Alternian Empire.  

With your lusus on your side taking power had been easy. In many respects much of the Condesce power came from Gl’bgolyb. So when Gl’bgolyb’s loyalty switched to entirely yours, when he stopped caring about how far away the Condesce was, because you were right there, that power became yours.

But that wouldn’t have been enough. If the Condesce hadn’t have come back to try to reclaim that power she would still be alive. She would still be in control. The empire would never have known that she had lost the backing of Gl’bgolyb. Who knows what would have happened.

Just before your seventh wriggling day it had happened. Gl’bgolyb hadn’t so much told you, but you knew it. The Condesce had wandered too far. Gl’bgolyb didn’t pine for her the way he’d used to. Now he was only you’re lusus. That would have been meaningless, of course it would have been useful in a few sweeps time when you came of age at ten sweeps and were expected to challenge the Condesce for power, but she had decided to come back, to try to regain Gl’bgolyb’s loyalty. She had returned to try and get her lusus back. It hadn’t worked. Gl’bgolyb had warned you long before the Condesce had arrived, and the Condesce, Her Imperious Condescension, had ended up on the end of your 2x3dent.

Not all her power came from Gl’bgolyb. Her power also came from the Subjugators, the sea dwellers, and other high bloods. Her power came from the caste system. Gl’bgolyb was simply the glue that kept the caste system in place. The threat of the vast of the Vast Glub was what created the caste system with the Condesce at the top.

And that was where the problem was. Now the Condesce was dead, you were in control you could finally do all the things you wanted to. You could finally abolish the cast system. Oh how wrong you were. Luckily Eridan, god why did it have to be Eridan, had talked some sense into you before you’d made the announcement.

The problem was… your power came from the very cast system you wanted to abolish. If you tried to straight out abolish it, then you would no longer have the power you needed to abolish it. The Subjugators, the sea dwellers and the other high bloods, they would all rebel against you. As for the Threat of the Vast Glub the power the Gl’bgolyb gave you so that you could command them meaningless. The simple fact that you wanted to abolish the cast system meant that you could never release the Vast Glub. You could never condemn so many low bloods to death simply for the sake of making a few high bloods fall into line.

They would know that, he’d told you. And as much as you hated to admit it he was right.

When you were six you’d broken off your Moirallegiance with him. He’d confessed his flushed feeling for you, and you had rejected him. Now you were seven and he was acting more like your moirail than he ever had in the past. You couldn’t deal with it. He was a good friend but he needed a moirail, someone other than you to help him deal with this mess.

If you announced that you wanted to abolish the Hemospectrum, the first thing that will happen is you’ll paint a massive target on your head, and if you’re not careful that in itself could release the Vast Glub whether you want it released on not. The next thing that would happen is an open rebellion the low bloods would rebel, and the high bloods would try to supress them. Millions would die, and while the low bloods did have the numbers, they weren’t ready for war. If there was going to be a rebellion, you might as well have it when you, they were ready, when the high bloods weren’t expecting it. Keep tabs on the rebellion, and in the meantime reform some little rules, make little mistakes make it so that the Rebels would win with as fewer casualties as possible.

So now you’re sitting in your office and you going through files, and laws, and regulations, piles of paper work in short, trying to figure out what changes you can make before conscription day, two weeks away.

Conscription day… It wasn’t just millions of lives that were on the line here. It was your friend’s lives as well this sweep. It’s too soon, too late. You don’t have enough time to reform the laws properly, so now you’re frantically trying to find something anything that will mean that no one need be culled on conscription day.


	2. An answer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's always a way out, even if it's not a particularly nice one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't mind me I just decided to change the formatting.

>> Be the one other Troll that got a posting before conscription day

Your name is Kanaya Maryam and you, much like Feferi, won’t be directly affected by conscription day. This is due to the fact that you are already, and have been for some time now, serving in the brooding caverns.

Your lusus died when you were six. It had been a sad day, but it was a day you had known would come. Virgin mother grubs never live too long. At least that’s what all the records show. You don’t think any Jade blood in living memory has ever had a Mother Grub as their lusus. She gave up her life to raise you, and now it was you’re duty to return the favour by raising her progeny.

You’d taken the Matriorb form her still warm body, and you’d left your childhood home in the desert, making the journey to the brooding caverns. It still hadn’t hatched of cause. It would be many sweeps before the Matriorb would hatch, but your position as its keeper meant you were of a much higher rank than many of the other young jade bloods. You found other things to do with your time while you waited for it to hatch, such as helping the empress with her culling dilemma.

The fact that you’d spent the best part of your life caring for a mother grub as she cared for you meant that you could forgo most of the normal schoolfeeding that the other young initiates underwent. So that was why with still two weeks until the conscription day when those of your age would be conscripted, you already had a posting, and knowledge that wouldn’t have been yours for a good three years or so were yours already.

So here you were reading up on the culling laws and the other functions of the drones.

In the past a sentence of culling was sometimes suspended in all but the most dire circumstances. It was thought that even those that were unfit could be put to some use. This practice has long been in disuse due to the belief that the unfit cannot be of use to the empire.

A little more digging and you’d found it. The old law, never actually been revoked, the loop whole you and Feferi had been looking for. You practically shone with pride as you read though the law. Normally this sort of thing was what someone like Terezi would be interested in, but no, you had found it. You opened a chat window anxious to tell Feferi of your discovery.

grimAuxiliatrix [GA]began trolling cuttlefishCuller [CC]

GA: Hey Feferi

GA: I Believe I Might Have Found Something

CC: Really? What is it? Glub.

GA: Well I Was Reading Through The Culling Laws

GA: And It Would Seem That A Culling Sentence Can Be Suspended

CC: Suspended? As in they won’t be culled straight away? Won’t they just be culled later?

CC: I mean it’s great t)(at t)(ey mig)(t not need to be culled straight away,

CC: but if t)(ey are going to be culled later it doesn’t really matter.

CC: For )(ow long can the sentence be suspended anyway?

GA: That Is The Thing

GA: From What I Am Reading Here The Sentence Is Or More Accurately Can Be

GA: Suspended Indefinitely So Forever

CC: GLUB. T)(AT SOUNDS GR---EAT!!!!

GA: But There Is A Whole Assortment Of Conditions I Am Reading Though them now

GA: They Aren’t Pardoned So They Can Be Culled pretty Much On A Whim

GA: Really The Only Good Thing Is They Do Not Need To Worry About Contributing To The Filial Pail Mostly Because A Second Culling Sentence Is Rather Pointless

CC: T)(at doesn’t sound so bad…

GA: No It Does Not Sound So Bad

You keep reading through the law. Making sure that you do indeed fully understand it, and how it is implicated.

GA: They Also Are required to be handed over to High Blooded Land Dweller Or a Sea Dweller

CC: )(anded over? W)(at is that supposed to mean?

GA: I Am Looking Into It Now The Book Uses The Word Convict

GA: It Is In Fact A Really Old Law

GA: But As Far As I Can Tell I Think It Means As A

GA: Slave


	3. A legislacerator

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> one young troll is busy studying.  
> another is simply bored.

>> Be the troll who is frantically studying

Your name is Terezi Pyrope and you are currently studying. You are surrounded by dusty old, and shiny new law books alike. 

Until you turned seven you interest in the legal had been just that, and interest, a hobby. It had always been your dream to be a legislacerator like your ancestor red glare. When you turned seven you realized that maybe actually working towards that dream would be a good idea. There’s one week left until conscription and you have a plan. You’re going to be the best legislator Alternia has ever known.

Of course this means sitting and actually doing well in the legislaceration exams, at least you’re a teal blood so that’s one less thing you have to worry about. Teal bloods are known for being good at studying and making good legislacerators. You’re going to do well, and no one will be surprised. 

On your couch your Moirail and FLARP partner is idly flicking through one of your books. You’re not actually sure how you and Vriska became moirails. Mostly she needed you. By which you mean if you hadn’t stopped the Psychotic bitch’s caliginous advances on Tavros then things would have ended badly.

She’s not actually reading the book though. She doesn’t want to be a legislacerator which is a good thing, she’d never make the grade. 

“I don’t get why you’re studying so hard,” Vriska commented.

“Because,” you responded, dot pointing the contents of this chapter, “If I don’t score high enough I’ll get culled. Aren’t you even the slightest bit worried?”

Vriska shrugged, “Not really, I am a high blood after all. I’m just going to sit the general placement exam. I’ll probably get in the Threshecutioners maybe the Ruffiannihilators but really I don’t care. It’s not like they fail high bloods for anything short of physical or mental injuries. Not on general placement, anyway. What I don’t get is why you don’t just take general placement?”

You roll your eyes and viciously underline several words in red. Waxing Caliginous for your moirail again… But not really. You know she’s just trying to look out for you. Doesn’t stop her from annoying you though. “Because,” you say taking your frustration out on the page instead of your moirail, “I want to be a legislacerator. I do care.”

Vriska’s not going to drop the subject though. “But if you fail there’s a decent chance of getting yourself culled.”

You shrug. “I’m cull bait anyway.”

“What the hell Terezi. You’re perfectly healthy. You’re...”

“Blind.” You cut her off. “I’m blind Vriska.”

“What that… You’re perfectly capable, I’ve seen you on the FLARPing field.

“I know that, and you know that.” You pause, but this is your moirail. You’re allowed to show weakness here. “Quit worrying about me. If I sit the Legislacerator exam they’ll never even realize that I’m blind.”

Vriska nodded her head slightly. “Okay… Just make sure you do pass.” You can hear the solicitude in her voice.

You smile, trying not to roll your eyes. “What about you? You’re still down an arm.”

She shrugs. “The robotic arm Equius made works fine, I’m blind in one eye, but other than that I’m perfectly healthy despite years of FLARPing. It’s Gamzee you should worry about, the stupid clown if off his head on sopor more often than he’s sober.”

You shake your head. “No, from what I’m hearing he’s been sober for over a sweep now. It’s Tavros that I’m a little worried about.” Actually that’s a lie. You’re more than a little worried about Tavros. Not that you’re interested in him for any of your quadrants, well maybe pale, but you’ve already got a moirail so best if you kept those feeling to yourself. It’s just that it was partly your fault he got hurt.

“Tavros, Tavros. Oh you mean the stupid little brown blood from team charge. Got caught in a rockslide while FLARPing right?”

“Yeah.” Far out how could Vriska not remember him? She’d been pitch flirting with him for ages before the accident. When you said the incident had been partly you’re fault. It had been mostly hers. The brown blood had been paralyzed from the waist down. His partner Aradia had also been injured in the incident. She’d been in a coma for over a week but did eventually make a full recovery. So despite her being a rust blood she should be fine at conscription. “You don’t remember?”

“Remember what?” The anger comes rushing back, how the hell can she not remember what happened? You want to scream at her. Instead you don’t say anything, the bile and anger bubbling just below the surface. You return to studying, there is less than a week till conscription day and you’ve got a lot of marital to revise. 

“Argh, you are so boring” Vriska complains. 

She leaves shortly after that and you focus on studying, glad that you don’t have to deal with the vacillating feelings right now. 


	4. Say goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So... you've actually been clean for a while thanks to your palebro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I actually struggled for ages trying to figure out how too write Gamzee... I don't like Gamzee, and I had a lot of trouble. I had so 200 words I was sort of happy with... well then I had this idea that he can have been sober for a while... and I can write him however I want... So yeah... I guess I did my best, and I hope you like my take on a sober Gamzee.

>> Be the troll that is currently high on sopor

You name is name is Gamzee Makara, and No. You are not actually high, you’ve been clean for almost two sweeps. You’ll probably never be completely over it, but you can think clearly now, and what you’re thinking is that there’s something off about your palebro. Actually there’s always been something off about karbro, you never noticed it when you were high, but you do now. You notice everything now. At least it seems that way. There’s something ever more off about Karbro today.

“Listen Gamzee…” Karkat paused.

Yeah there’s defiantly something wrong. “What is up all in your think pan brother?” you ask.

Karkat sat down in the horn pile. “I’ve been thinking about conscription day.” He doesn’t sound like the Karkat you know and pity… He sounds different, concerned.

“Yeah motherfucking awesome isn’t it? We all get to go into outer space.” You try to sound cheerful. You’ve actually been looking forward to conscription. Then again, you’re a high blood with nothing to worry about.

“Yeah, Gamzee I know that’s know what I’m trying to say. It’s just that I don’t think I’m going to be able to be your moirail much longer.”

Yup. You drop the fake cheerfulness. This is exactly what it was you were afraid of. Karbro’s been there for you though think and thin. He help you sober up. If it hadn’t been for him you don’t think you’d been as carefree about conscription.

“Is this about the motherfucking subjugglators?” Yeah that was going to be a thing wasn’t it. You were about to start training for one of the elite high-blood ranks, one of the nastiest ranks, of the Alternian Army. Also, one that dealt out a lot of internal issues… In short there was a very decent change that in five or so sweeps time you’d be hunting down low bloods. Low-bloods like Karkat.

You know he’s a low-blood. Lower than Nepeta. You’ve never talked about it. Never really wanted to… He kept his blood colour a closly guarded secret. When you’d been high it hadn’t mattered none of it mattered, blood anything. When you’d sobered up it had started mattering. It had started mattering a lot. You were a high blood. Born of your blood line, one of the three highest land-dweller lines. He was beneath you… But he was your moirail. You could handle a lower blood class. Low bloods often made good moirails. They were inferior yes. Their minds worked differently, and that difference was what helped you find balance. So you could forgive Karkat for being a low-blood and pitied him all the more for it. You didn’t want to ask the exact hue for fear that it might undermine your Moirallegiance. It hadn’t mattered before. So you let Karkat believe that it didn’t matter now, while he waited for the little friend to be ready to tell him the hue.

Karkat shifted uncertainly. “Yeah pretty much. I don’t think I’m going to get on the same ship as you.”

You parped him. “Karbro, that won’t be a problem. Once you’re all up and registered at conscription. We can register you as my Moirail, and they’ll motherfucking put you on the same ship as me.” Yeah, say what you liked about the Alternian society they respected quadrants. Matespritships, Kismesissitudes, Moirallegiances, and even Auspisticisms where never spilt up, provided they were registered.

He shakes his head. “No, it’s not that simple.”

“Then tell me where the problem is at.” You’re kind of worried now. He could be a yellow blood… which powerful psionic, but that doesn’t make sense. Even if he was they’d still respect your claim on him as a moirail. The perks of being a high-blood. Besides he’d never shown even a hint of mental powers. It almost made it to the point where you could almost imagine him as a high-blood.

Not to mention the fact that his eye colour still hadn’t shown. That was strange. There was only 5 days until conscription. Even a high end low-blood with a wriggling day close to conscription would be showing by now, and he had turned eight pedigrees ago.

“Gamzee please. Don’t make this any harder than it be.”

Okay… “Kar... Bro… If there’s all something you wanna be doing. I say go for it. I can apply for a transfer or something.” You really should have thought of it earlier. Maybe Karkat had dreams of his own. You’re his moirail this is the sort of stuff you should know.

“No, Gamzee. I’m breaking up with you. You are going to join the subjugglators. And you’ll probably never seen me again.”

You stare, not quite able to believe the words you just heard come out of Karkat’s mouth. His voice was terse, and cold. It was over. There was no point in talking about it. It was clear that Karkat had thought long and hard about this… Without you. That should have made the message clear enough. He had a problem. One that he wouldn’t talk to you about. Your Moirallegiance was over.

“Fine. If that’s what you want.”

Karkat turned to go, you called after him. “One question.”

He turned back, unbroken eyes not quite looking at you. “What?”

“What colour is it?” You obviously meant his blood, and you could tell from the look in his eyes that he knew exactly what you meant.

He didn’t answer though. “It’s none of your business.” And that stung more than the entire rest of the conversation, but it didn’t matter, did it? He wasn’t you’re moirail. He wasn’t anything to you anymore.


	5. An Ally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So... what has our hemospectrumist prince been up too?
> 
> wait... what?

>> Be one of the most powerful trolls in the Empire

Your name is Eridan Ampora and no you’re not actually all that powerful. Yes you are a sea dweller, and yes you the one responsible for making sure Gl’bgolyb gets fed lususes, and yes the empress actually listens to what you have to say.

Okay so maybe you are pretty powerful. These days you mostly try not to let it go to your head. Fef wants to abolish the Hemospectrum and if you want to be on her side, which you do despite everything, then you’ve got to start by abolishing it from your own head, even if you won’t act that way around the others.

You still can’t believe Fef actually listened to you. You realised then that had been the first time you’d ever given her advice. The first time you’d ever been compelled to. There was a part of you that wanted to pretend that she might be flushed for you, or that maybe she listened because she still thought of you as a moirail. But you continued to remind yourself it wasn’t true. You couldn’t let yourself pretend any more. You’d screwed up, and now you had to get over it. Feferi would never be in any of your quadrants, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t care. Especially when she was empress, she was going to need advisors.

Even if you couldn’t ever be quadrentmates, you were still on her side still in cahoots besides, pretty much everyone else you knew was on her side as well. It was time to see where new Alternia was going to take you.

On the topic of quadrants you’re actually going okay. Your pale crush on Kar has finally gone away, that isn’t to say that you aren’t still crushing on him just that it isn’t pale. Your actually lucky there, your hang outs and movies didn’t stop when he and Gamzee became moirails. You’d been terrified of that for a bit, but it turns out he really did think of you as nothing more than a hate friends.

That kind of hurt, but you got over it. You’d never curl up on a pile with him, and discuss feelings until the sun was starting to set and you finally feel asleep. But when you were curled up on the couch, a blank wrapped around the two of you, marathonning romcoms. And his head would drop down on to your shoulder, the tips of his nubby horns brushing against your cheek, as he starts getting tried. You could pretend there was something there.

He’d always waking up excitedly whenever it gets to one of his favourite parts talking about the characters and the story. Then the movie would end, and you’d expect him to say he was tried and should get home, but he wouldn’t and so you wouldn’t. He’d get up and you’d exchange a few words talking about different things. Then he’d put on another movie and sit back on the couch, his head dropping against you, and you’d pretend. You’d pretend that you were moirails. Prtend that he sympathized with you, as much as you did him. Pretend that he didn’t have a moirail, and pretend that this wasn’t pale cheating.

You’d never said anything to Kar, and he’d never said anything either. He’d never pushed you away because you were acting too pale though. He would’ve told you that it had to stop because he had a moirail… then again. You’d been close to this when you’d been with Fef, and before he went pale for Gamzee. You’d never ask him, what he felt about it. You were afraid that if you ever said anything to him, he’d realise and say it had to stop.

Then about half a sweep ago everything had changed. Fef had at least warned you, what was going to happen. You’d been broken up with her for over a sweep by then and so things were at least cordial between you. You’d worried in silence. You had no right to worry about her. But in the end the Condescension was dead and Fef was the new empress. She’d taken the title Consideration. Her opened speech though. It was lucky it had just been a room full of violet bloods. About halfway through you’d risk your own life to drag her out of there and explain how shaky her position of power could be. She’d listened. She’d actually listened. That had saved both your necks. She’d changed her speech. Explaining that she was young and might make a lot of mistakes, so to prevent this she would be willing to consider all of their opinions, rather than just barking orders as the Condense had.

You’d met Sirera there. A few weeks and a lot of trollian conversations later, you asked her out pale. She’d said yes. Since then things had been much better.


	6. Quadrents and conscription

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> for many this should be the end...

>> Be the Paraplegic

Your name is Tavros Nitram, and yes: you are paralysed from the waist down. You can’t move, well you can’t even feel your legs. You’re kind of used to it now. It has been years since the FLARPing incident that rendered you unable to walk, it happened back when you were five. Aradia has it worse than you. Even if she isn't confined to a four-wheeled-device. She can't move at all. at first you were horrified. You couldn't feel your legs but she... she couldn't feel anything at all.

It had gotten better when she'd shown that she didn't actually need to use her arms and legs to, well, use her arms and legs. Her psychic powers would probably never have the brute force of her matesprite's but with over a sweep of training, you could sometimes believe that there was nothing wrong with her at all.

Conscription was here now though. Her eyes had filled over with rust red, and your's a bronzed brown. Lowblood colours... you'd never really thought about it before. Now the thoughts terrified you. You were going to die. You were both going to die. You didn't have a chance, not confided to a wheel chair like this. Aradia might be lucky enough to be put in the helmscollum on one of the smaller ships. That would be a fate worse than death.

She patted your shoulder. The gesture was awkward. You could tell she was nervous as well, it was making her loose some of the fine motor control in her limbs. "Everything is going to be okay."

You didn't meet her gaze, how could you. "I… umm… I don't think it is going to be... I mean… We…"

"Just you see." You didn't even think that she believed what she was saying. She was just trying to comfort you.

"Umm… Okay… At least Sollux will… Probably…. Be okay…. I mean…" You tried to make your voice sound cheerful. There wasn't anything you could do. There wasn't anything you could do to escape conscription. "He applied for advance placement and… well… I think they'd be stupid not to take him."

She nodded her head, one of the few gestures she could still make without the use of psionics. "Yes. They would be stupid not to take him."

"Yeah…" You could tell there was something on her mind. "What… Umm… I mean… What's wrong…. I mean if you don’t mind telling me… It’s just you don’t look very happy…"

You can tell she's only just holding back the tears. "Even if he makes the cut. And even if I don't get culled. I don't even know if they'll respect a Matesprite status between a pair of low bloods. It doesn’t matter what happens I’m probably not going to be able to stay with him. I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye properly. Things have just been so hectic."

You put your hands on her shoulders and look directly into her eyes. You had to pull her down slightly to achieve this but you do. "Everyone's Matesprite is important. It doesn't matter that you are both low bloods. The Empress got the message from the drones a long time ago. They don't give a shit about blood colour so the Quadrant laws don't care about blood either." You speak with a determination that is far from normal, but this stuff you know.

Aradia looked surprized. "Where did that come from?”

You blushed slightly. "I've… Umm… Been talking to Terezi… I mean… a lot lately… She's talking the legislacerator exams… So… Umm… I’ve been helping her study."

Aradia looked surprized. "At her age?"

You nodded your head. "Yeah." You smile slightly. You Know Terezi. She’s always had a passion for law. You know she can pass this test. Especially since you’d seen how hard she’d been studying. She knows the laws better than anyone. She’s got this.

She swallowed. "I just hope some of make it through this stupid process."

“She’ll do it.” You say that line with more determination than you’ve had through the whole conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look I'm actually updating this story.   
> actually I've had this chapter written for a while, even if it's only short.   
> long enough that my grasp of grammar has improved, god I can't believe how many epsilons were in this. with any luck I'll update more often, and my writing won't be as shitty.


	7. Fighter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nepeta's always been a fighter, even if that's not normal among olives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here, have another chapter, a longer one too.   
> (I mean it's still quite short, but it's twice as long as the last chapter and the longest chapter so far.)

>> Be a young huntress

Your name is Nepeta Leijon, and right now that’s all the introduction you’ve got time for as the medivisor is pursing her lips, and staring intently into the vial. “Olive.” She says the words in a clipped matter of fact way, like telling a patient that she doesn’t particularly care for that they have a terminal illness. Then again to this troll perhaps being an Olive blood was like having a terminal illness. She shoved a slip of paper into your hand, and shoos you away.

You move away from her and on to the next station more than a little annoyed. You never asked to be an Olive blood. Your Moirail is a Blue blood. Equius always gets worked up about the Hemospectrum. Until now you’d always just parped him when the matter came up. You’re not sure if you can keep doing that any more.

The next troll glanced over the sheet, “Oh. Olive.” She said the word with even more distrain than the last troll. You’re really starting to get pissed off now. “General placement was it?” The tone to her voice suggests that she just wants to get you processed as quickly as possible. Can’t afford to waste any more of your already short life span, put you to work somewhere in the fleet as soon as possible. Actually no. She probably just doesn’t want to waste any of her time dealing with you. Well NO. You were just going to stay calm and go through this like a good little olive. You were just as strong as a high blood and you’d show them.

You’d talked to Equius before conscription. The general consensus was that you should just take general placement. You’d either get a military posting somewhere not particularly dangerous, or a non-military posting. Really it all depended on where Equius ended up. He wanted to join the Archeradicators but since he still couldn’t use a bow without breaking it, he was just going to take general placement and would probably end up in the Ruffiannihilators.

“Ruffiannihilators.” You said the word without even thinking it through, but your mind is made up now. You are going to join the Ruffiannihilators with your Moirail or you are going to die trying. “I am going to try for the Ruffiannihilators.” You say, more firmly this time.

Her bored, disdainful expression is replaced by one of surprize. “You? You are going to take the Ruffiannihilator test?” The distain was quick to return.

“Yes.” You were a little uncertain now but you didn’t let it enter your voice.

A smirk crossed the trolls face. “Alright then.”

You have a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach, as if you’ve just made a terrible mistake.

You end up in a small arena. Five other Ruffiannihilator applicants are there as well. Though at this point calling yourself an applicant would be stretching it quite a bit. All five of them are high bloods, shades of blue. The lowest is a few shades higher than wriskers, and the highest two are higher than Equius. You… You are far smaller than even the smallest and the olive symbol on your shirt just doesn’t compare. But you will show them. You must.

It’s a different troll overseeing you of this. A purple blood. His hue perhaps a little lower than Gamzee’s. He leers down at the six of you. “We accept only the strongest and most powerful fighters into the Ruffiannihilators. So here is a test of your skills. The rules are simple: Who ever kills the Olive blood gets in, beyond that there are no rules. Any of the rest of you that are still alive, and not cull bait that that point, may take general placement.”

Oh shit. You equip your claws you had been expecting it to be bad, last man standing kind of thing. This, this was worse. You were going to dying here weren’t you? No. You weren’t going to let that happen, you could do this you were fast, and used to fighting enemies far larger than yourself.

The overseer banged a gong and the game started. That’s all it was, just a game. An easy one at that. At least that’s what you kept repeating in your head, you had to believe that you could win this. Two of the trolls moved forward rushing towards you. You darted back. You knew there was no way you be able to beat anyone of this trolls in direct confutation. You needn’t have bothered though. The highest blood among them, a head taller than even the tallest of the others, caught them by the horns and flung them back. One hit the back wall of the arena head first, a sickening crunch. You don’t know if he was dead or not, but he didn’t get up again. The other came down about a foot from the wall, cursing loudly, and very clearly still alive.

You darted back further as the indigo lumbered towards you. The other two trolls seem to have the same idea, this wasn’t about killing you any more this was about not dying.

You go back up the wall. Indigo just laughs, He knows you can’t escape. You know it too. You leap off the wall, launching yourself at his face. He wasn’t expecting that. None of them were. You somehow managed to avoid his horns. Your claws scraping across his face. You grab one of his horns in a hand in attempt to steady yourself as you gouge his eyes out. He screams and you jump back before he can disembowel you.

You land one hand on the ground as well as both of your feet. Your claws are dripping with Navy blood. You dart off to the side. You do not want to be around for any retribution, but the troll is still screaming, all but clawing at his own face. His vision obscured by blood. That at least is a small mercy. You glance around the area. The troll that hit the wall still hasn’t moved. The other cobalt blood is already back on his feet though. Oh shit. You dart to the side. You narrow missed the troll. He’s faster than you, but he’s nowhere near as flexible as you, he almost crashes into the wall. That kind of makes you want to laugh, but you still have two more blues two deal with.

You make down to one troll. You have no idea how you did it, admittedly they did hurt each other way more they you’d thought they would. Two you think are dead, one is probably just out cold. And the last is groaning, so probably not dead. She still might be getting culled. You try not to think about it. She would have killed you without a second thought.

You straighten up. Watching the Indigo. He’s only a few shades higher than Equius. You swallow. You must kill him, it’s killed or be killed. For your moirail’s sake you have to kill this troll. If you want to live you have to kill this troll, or at the very least incapacitate him enough that he'd rather the shame of general placement than face you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> annnnnnd I'm a terrible person. Hope no one's hanging too closely on the edge of your seat. I'll make sure you know what happens. In a chapter or two. and hey maybe I'll even update again soonish.


	8. Programmer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you fail, you'll just die, but if you don't even try...  
> You just know you'll end up in a helms-column and that, would be worse.

>> Be the troll with a plan.

Your name is Sollux Captor, and yes you have a plan. It’s not a great plan, but it is a plan. Low bloods don’t sit general placement. It’s that simple. One look at your eyes, clearly showing your blood colour -- in your case an off yellow -- and you are shunted into accelerated placement. Which is basically a shitty physical, and a check to see if her have any psychic powers that can be exploited from there lowbloods are just dropped into menial tasks. The /only/ advantage in all this is that Low bloods are considered too weak to be infantry. 

Unfortunately they are also generally considered too short lived to do any job that requires any sort of training. If you go through the general route you know exactly what will happen. They’ll establish that you are an extremely powerful psion, and if that happens you’ll be shoved in a helmscolumn treated as little more than a living battery. You can’t let that happen, you won’t let that happen. You are an accomplished programmer, and you are going to get advanced placement. 

The Troll handling the first step in the process takes a close look at your eyes, And then glares. She was probably expecting to have to do a blood test, but one look at you and she knows she won’t have to. “You’re a Lowblood she all but growls.” 

Like she’s much better her own hue shows in her eyes a startling green. 

“Yes So? That doesn’t mean I can’t take advanced placement for apiargraming.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah right cull bait, fine have it your way.” She scribbles something down on a slip of paper and hands it to you. “When you fail I’m going to make you pay for wasting time and resources.”

You just nod, she’s older and higher up the spectrum than you it’s not worth trying to fight back.

You move forward, your mind flickering to Aradia. You didn’t have a chance to say goodbye. You both know this is goodbye though. Best case she’s going to end up in a helmscolumn, but you know she’d rather be culled. She’s not going to survive conscription. You should have said goodbye to her, but you’d been so busy studying. 

You were so caught up in it all, you hadn’t even realised you’d run out of time till an alarm went off reminding you leave or you’d miss conscription, a cullable offence. You can only hope that Aradia will forgive your oversight. 

You have all for electronics and possessions taken off you, they don’t even let you keep a pencil. You’re almost surprised they let you keep the clothes on your back. Then you file into the exam room along with about two dozen other trolls, and… yeah this was not what you’d been expecting. Somehow you’d been expecting rows of desks, with paper exams, or perhaps rows of computers. This is nothing like that. 

The room is large and bees swarm through the air. There’s a couple of mid bloods with clipboards grinning at you. You can see a few hives scattered around the room and over by the wall you spot the key to everything.

One of the midbloods, a deep teal from the look of her simbol steps forward, somehow drawing attention to herself without making a sound. “Alright, you have all applied for advance placement in apiargraming. This means that for some unfathomable reason you lot think you don’t need to be taught anything and can go straight into a apiargraming position. Well pride is all very well and good, especially when it can be backed up by skill. When it can’t? Well… I think it should be clear to all of you that Failure in this test will earn you a culling sentence. Alternian only has room for the strong. So Since you all already know what you’re doing, I expect you’d have no problem messaging me your Name and caste designation. I’ll even give you my trollian handle, I’m daringElegance.”

You weren’t the first so start moving, but you weren’t far behind. Perhaps a third of the trolls are heading to the edge of the room where you’d spotted the various pieces of electrical equipment. You can do this, you know you can do this. You build your first computer when you were 4 sweeps old, and you’ve been working with bees longer than you can remember. 

It doesn’t take you long to get something set up, you’ve been careful not to use your powers too much. The last thing you need is them deciding you’d be better fitted to being shoved into a helms-column on a warship. You do use your powers to prevent yourself from getting stung though, and most of the others are sporting quite a few bee stings. 

You’ve got a basic OS setup, nothing fancy but it’s enough to get a network connection and start programming a chat client. 

You hear the notification of what can only be a chat message, and notice the posture of another troll relax. You can’t help but look up, She’s a an olive blood judging from the symbol on her shirt. Though you’re not super familiar with the symbol. It looks kind of like a blocky figure eight, the top part far smaller than the bottom, kind of like a triangle balanced on a square. 

You shake your head trying to force yourself to focus. You’re coming down now, Finally. But now's the worst possible time, it’s getting harder to focus. You stare at your code trying to remember where you were up to what you were doing. A cold dread starts setting in. You can’t do this. How can you do this? You’re going to die. You know it in your bones it’s a certainty. You are going to die and there’s nothing you can do to fight it. 

You stare blankly at the screen not really even seeing the code. Then like a spark it hits you. What the fuck are you doing? The Overseer had been right, your pride had almost been your downfall. You are good, a master of Apiculture Networks, you could build a computer out of a bunch of junk and some beehives. You could program a chat client from the ground up. But you don’t need to. Fingers dance over the keyboard once more that spark of inspiration driving you forward. All you need to do is download a free client and… There. 

The next bing from the overseers tablet may just be the best sound you ever heard. You did it, you actually did it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at this nonsense I'm updating.  
> It's only been... over a year...
> 
> But yes, here's sollux.  
> I'm actually kinda happy with this, (points to anyone who can guess who the olive blooded cameo is)  
> So I (feel like an idiot) was surprise to realize that Sollux actually canonically has bipolar, Some how I just thought it was a popular head cannon. So yes, that's some of what's happening in here. I personally am Bipolar II, so I'll be writing from my own experience, Though I will be embellishing a bit because I'm writing for fun here. 
> 
> (Feel free to ask me about my experiences with being bipolar, but understand that different people experience things differently. In my case I don't get manic episodes. (Well I can but it's more a mistake with meds side effect that a natural part of my condition) And provided I'm aware of it I can completely counter all the downsides of hypomanic episodes. Which is a fun source of confusion and conflict. 
> 
> But anyway back to sollux. Basically what this means for him is I won't be writing his manic episodes as sever as another writer might, They are by no means a good thing, He didn't say goodbye to Aradia despite believing that one or both of them would die. Why? Because he was busy programming.  
> And yeah crashing after an upswing, is really bad, everything about how much of an idiot you've been just kind of hits you. So yeah. 
> 
> Anyway, at the moment I have made a ridiculous plan to try and update something Every Friday (not necessarily this fic, just something, so lets see how long I can keep that up.)
> 
> And one last question to you, ( have a few plans) But who would you like to see get "Culled"?


End file.
